Match Date: 09/02/2026
Paul McCabe defeated Rob Martin 1 up
We couldn’t get on Wanaki so we agreed to play our match at Nag.
We started on 1, but after 1 we were redirected to hole 5 due to several slow groups in front of us so our finishing hole was #4.
High level overview. Rob shot even par on the front 9 and shot 76, Paul shot even par on the back 9 and shot 77. Both players were hitting the ball well all day long and enjoying the grind of a touch match. Now the highlights and there were many!
Rob was up 4 holes after hole 10 after parring every hole highlighted by an incredible up and down for par on #8 from a down hill lie in the back bunker and dropping a 35ft bomb.
Paul won 12 with a par and Rob halved 13 with a 12ft par putt to stay 3up.
Paul made a 4 ft putt for birdie on 14 and a 1 foot kick in birdie on 15 to get to one down.
On 16, Paul hit the flag stick on the fly and made par to win the hole after a lip out 3 putt from Rob to Square the match.
Paul won 17 to go one up and Rob won 18 to square the match and then we went back to play holes 2 thru 4.
Rob dropped a 25 foot birdie putt on #2 to halve the hole as Paul was getting his one and only stroke of the match.
Paul dropped a 12 foot downhill putt for par on #4 to halve the hole to push the match into extra holes.
Extra holes started on #5 with both players hitting good drives. On the approach shot, Paul went first and hit Gap Wedge from 105 yards out that landed 10 ft before the pin and disappeared into the cup for an EAGLE! Rob’s approach ended 15 ft below the cup. Paul wins in 19 holes.
Rob exhibited great sportsmanship and we celebrated the match over a couple beers back at the clubhouse ending the most memorable and enjoyable match play event of my golfing career.
